A powerful crime thriller based on a true story, BY ANY MEANS is elevated by two great performances by its leads and a gritty, 70's cop thriller vibe that soaks every taut, bloody inch of the tale. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen, Us) is excellent as FBI Agent Wayne Strider. He's idealistic and devoted to bringing justice to the Black victims of Mississippi in 1966, having just moved back to the South with his wife Allison (Nicole Beharie from "42"). In the racist, KKK infest

Kevin Hart and a talented young cast serve up a lot of big laughs, inappropriate humor (my favorite kind) and awkward moments in 72 HOURS. Yes it's dumb. Gloriously so and LOL funny unless you are of fragile sensibilities. Then you'll be aghast. The story is paper thin and predictable, just a flimsy tree to hang some very funny set pieces on, light them on fire and watch 'em go. The cast is up for anything. Hart (Jumanji, Central Intelligence) is Joe, an advertising exec who'

Looking for some hilariously bad, cheesy, early 70's TV movie horror this Saturday morning? Great news, I've found a banger. With fond memories of watching this as a CBS TV movie of the week in 1973, I watched THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET on YouTube. Unintentionally hilarious, it reads like a classic disaster movie, mixed with the horror craze at the time, which was driven by the mega success of "The Exorcist" the same year. It's nearly as funny as "Airplane" but sadly, its not

Yes, it can be occasionally clunky, but as a history lesson on the cold war and a moment in time that changed history in dramatic fashion, THE BRINK OF WAR is packed with great acting by its trio of leads. Set in October 1986, the world's two nuclear superpowers, the USA and USSR are in a dangerous period of escalation that teeters on war. USA President Ronald Reagan (Jeff Daniels) and Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev (Jared Harris) agree to meet in Iceland in a very remote, s

NUREMBERG is a fascinating, powerful dive into the Nazi war crime trials at the end of WW2. Driven by at four stunning lead performances, it holds up beautifully as a cinematic companion piece to it's 1961 predecessor, "Judgement at Nuremberg". We're dropped into the last day of the war, with European citizens beginning their emotional trek home to whatever is left of their homes. Second in command of the Nazi army, Herrman Goring calmly surrenders to American forces on a cou

A clever blend of a heist film and a character study spiced with a dash of "Whiplash", TUNER is a unique ride that kept me leaning in closer from its opening frames. Leo Woodall is Niki White, quiet young apprentice to master piano tuner Harry Horowitz, perfectly embodied by Dustin Hoffman. Niki and Harry spend everyday bouncing around Manhattan in their aging brown van, perfectly tuning the pianos of the rich and famous in their massive estates. Niki has hyperacusis, a condi

I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed a romantic comedy more than SOLO MIO, with Kevin James effortlessly generating big laughs and giant goodwill toward his character. How can you not cheer for this guy? Over the opening credits, we watch 4th grade art teacher Matt Taylor (James) propose in class to fellow teacher Heather (Julie Ann Emery). Promising a wonderful life ahead, a wedding and a honeymoon in Rome, life seems as perfect as it gets. The credits end, the weddin

There are moments in LUCKY STRIKE in which Scott Eastwood looks so much like Clint, it's like watching outtakes from "Where Eagles Dare". But this is no Eagles. Dull and boring, it strands the younger Eastwood in a survival story only occasionally lifted by the WW2 action around it. After a poorly acted opening war set sequence distinguished only by some decent drone photography, the film lumbers into its clumsy story framing device. We meet a post war US Army Captain John Ca

Revisiting THE GRADUATE after many years, it's easy to imagine the absolute nuke it delivered to mainstream audiences of the day. Director Mike Nichols (The Birdcage, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) shows little interest in traditional storytelling, reveling in long visual interludes to Simon & Garfunkel songs with no interest for momentum. Dustin Hoffman is the anti-leading man, fumbling his way sexually and wallowing in worry for his post college future. Characters pop in

Taylor Sheridan strikes gold again with season 2 of LANDMAN, a modern Western drama packed with great characters and superb actors that create nuanced, hilarious and dramatic people we care about, laugh with and love. The oil boomtowns of West Texas have never been this entertaining and Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris is a character for the ages. The writing this sophomore season is off the charts great, with Sheridan penning every one of the ten episodes. This second year